


The Best Part of Waking Up is Flirting Over a Cup

by kanoitrace



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, M/M, Meet-Cute, Sherlock Plays the Violin, and Shiro and Keith are just awkward dorks with crushes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 08:43:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16513052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanoitrace/pseuds/kanoitrace
Summary: In her attempt to hook up her best friend Shiro with his crush, Allura meets a cute bartender that may just be prime crush material himself.





	The Best Part of Waking Up is Flirting Over a Cup

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at Voltron fic, and honestly? My first fic attempt in just under two years, so please be gentle? lol! This is unbeta'd, so all mistakes are my own.

The day is seemingly like any other mid-October day, completely innocuous in its beginnings. Allura comes into the cafe a little after nine, wielding a new handful of bank deposit bags, ready to relieve Shiro for his break (she will never not be grateful that she went into business with a morning person). Once Shiro gets back, they unload the most recent supply order, and when all that is done, it’s just about time for the lunch rush. Allura takes charge of the front, while one of their part-timers, a college student that goes by the name of Pidge, runs the register. After that, the quiet lull returns, broken only by the soft chatter of a few scattered patrons and the clicking of keys that accompanies college students studying and the inevitable individual who claims to be working on their next novel or screenplay. It’s a day just like any other, up until three that afternoon.

 

“Shiro, really, you’ve been here all day, go ahead and go home. Pidge and I have everything covered,”  Allura says.

 

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I don’t mind hanging around a little little longer,” Shiro insists.

 

Allura gives the small shop a once over, taking in the empty tables and spotless counters. She then takes to watching Shiro suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. He’s been wiping down the same spot for about fifteen minutes, flitting about every now and again so as not the look like he’s staying in one spot, yet he inevitably drifts back without effectively doing anything anywhere else. She tries to discretely position herself behind him, but is, of course, not quite stealthy enough to pull it off with someone as observant as Shiro.

 

“What are you doing?” he asks, the question hovering just shy of a demand.

 

Laughing nervously, Allura says, “Oh, nothing really, just, you know…” She waves about a hand as if that’s supposed to explain anything. Vaguely, she registers the bell over the door announcing the entrance of a customer, but she doesn’t pay it much mind, figuring Pidge can handle it.

 

What she does pay attention to, however, is the way Shiro suddenly sucks in a rather large breath and immediately turns his attention from her to the door, only to rush over to the register and all but body check Pidge out of the way. At this point, she can only watch in bemusement as Shiro steadily turns a darker and darker shade of pink as a young man with a dark mullet and bored expression shuffles up to the counter to order.

 

Pidge sidles up to her right as short, dark, and broody reaches the counter, but Shiro remains completely oblivious to both women who are watching him curiously, his eyes trained on the young man.

 

“Sup, Shiro?” SDB asks, placing one hand on the counter and the other on his hip, leaning forward into Shiro’s space.

 

Shiro, wearing what is quite possibly the dopiest smile Allura has ever seen on him, crosses his arms and leans a hip against his side of the counter, also leaning in towards SDB. “Oh, you know, keeping the masses fueled up and running.”

 

SBD laughs at this while Pidge and Allura share an incredulous look, because really?

 

“So, as the chief coffee expert, what do you recommend?” SBD asks, wearing an almost smile that is almost coy.

 

Shiro stands a little taller, puffing out his chest like some peacock in a mating ritual (oh god, Allura realizes, this is flirting, they are flirting; they think they’re flirting and it’s so painful to watch). “Well,” he says, “as the owner, I’m obligated to tell you everything we serve is good, but I’ll be more than happy to make you my specialty.” And he winks. He fucking winks, and Allura wants to die on the spot. A quick glance at Pidge proves she’s just as flabbergasted as Allura feels.

 

Also, since when in the bloody hell does Shiro have a “specialty?”

 

The two women watch as Shiro goes about making a cinnamon latte with extra foam, and Allura realizes that by “specialty,” Shiro just means “drink I’ve made a thousand times because I have to drink something other than black coffee sometime and my unhealthy obsession with cinnamon led to this being my new favorite.”

 

Shiro hands the drink over to SDB, who then goes to take a sip while making what could possibly, at the right angle, if you quint your eyes just so in exactly the right lighting, maybe, potentially be called bedroom eyes at Shiro. It’s painful to watch, even more so when Allura can spot the exact moment where SDB has scalded his tongue in his attempt at seduction.

 

Shiro winces. “Ah, sorry, it’s uh…. it’s hot?” He looks nervous, like he’s afraid SDB will never make bad bedroom eyes at him again because coffee is hot.

 

Looking as though the pain of all this awkwardness has finally caught up with him, SDB says, “No, it’s cool. Or fine. It’s fine, I mean. But good! The drink is good!”

 

The two stare at each other for a moment in silence, seemingly suddenly unsure of what to do next now that the absurdity of their little mating dance has caught up with them, until, finally, SBD clears his throat and says, “Um, well, I should, uh, get back to work. How much do I owe you?”

 

Shiro turns pink again, saying, “Don’t worry about it, it’s on the house.”

 

SDB almost-smiles shyly. “Thanks. It was good seeing you again.”

 

“You, too,” says Shiro, all moon-eyed and longing, as though already anticipating just how much he’ll miss SDB once he’s gone.

 

SDB drops a few bills into the tip jar, saying, “I’ll have to come back some time.”

 

Shiro very eloquently responds, “Yeah.”

 

SDB’s almost-smile widens a bit more before he turns and walks back out the door, Shiro staring longingly after him long after the fact.

 

Pidge and Allura share another look before Allura clears her throat. “Well,” she says, “it’s good to see you’ve gotten over Adam, at least.”

 

If Shiro was pink before, he’s fire engine red now.

 

“You totally forgot we were here, didn’t you?” Pidge asks, unimpressed.

 

Finally taking pity on Shiro as he fumbles for a response, Allura asks, “So who is he?”

 

The blush settles some, though is still present enough that Allura is beginning to be concerned that his face may now permanently be stained that way.

 

Smiling shyly, Shiro answers, “His name is Keith. He works at the mechanic down on 5th.”

 

“So you finally took your car in, huh?” Pidge interrupts.

 

And honestly? Allura kind of wants to smack Pidge a little, because regardless of the fact that they’ve been getting onto Shiro to take his old junker in for months now, that is so not the point right now!

 

In an attempt to course correct this conversation, Allura quickly says, “So you told him where you work? Or maybe even to come down? It seemed like you were expecting him.”

 

Shiro sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. “Well, he seemed genuinely interested in my trying to fix her up, and he cut me a deal, so I told him to come by and I’d repay the favor or something. Honestly, I was kind of hoping I would work up the nerve to give him my number, but no dice.”

 

“There’s always next time,” Allura assures him, to which he chuckles softly.

 

“Maybe,” he says.

 

“Trust me,” Allura says, placing a hand on his shoulder, “he will definitely be back for that number.” She grins cheekily before softening the expression. “And either way, good for you. I’m happy to see you putting yourself back out there, even a little.”

 

Shiro place a hand over hers, softly smiling back. “Thanks.”

* * *

 

 

Shiro leaves soon after and the day progresses basically the same as any other. The biggest difference is that Allura’s mind keeps trailing back to Shiro and his new-found crush. She hadn’t been lying; of course she’s happy for him. The disaster that was the end of his relationship with Adam had left Shiro closed off and seemingly done with romance forever, which might have been fine for some, but Allura knows him better than that. She knows Shiro enjoys being a provider and a caretaker, as well as having someone to curl up with at the end of the day that will return the favor with equal vigor. So yes, she’s happy for him, excited even.

 

Her trepidation comes more from the fact that this makes her face her own inability to let someone in. Her relationship with Lotor had ended around the same time as Shiro and Adam’s, and while it had never been explicitly stated, there was the implicit understanding that they were their own sort of bitter, old biddies club. There was solidarity to be found in the their similar pain. Now that Shiro seems to be ready to finally move on, Allura’s own loneliness is creeping back in, throwing long-buried, never dealt with pains back into her face.

 

Eventually, she does manage to put all these thoughts away so that she may get some sleep for the night and repeat it all again tomorrow.

* * *

 

 

By the end of the week, Keith has come into Cafe of Lions more days than he hasn’t, yet still there has been no exchange of phone numbers or anything else beyond awkward flirting and blushing. It’s enough to drive anyone up a wall, which is why when Keith comes in on Saturday, Allura is sure to insert herself into the strange courting ritual.

 

“So, Keith,” she says, plowing right through the dumb, shy silence that has fallen between the two besotted men. He looks mildly surprised that she knows his name, while Shiro looks more embarrassed than anything else, but still she persists. “You’re in here enough to basically be a regular by this point.”

 

“I am?” he asks, as though this is truly a surprise to him, which just kind of infuriates her.

 

She does her best to not let her frustration show, though if he looks close enough she’s sure he’d notice the beginnings of a twitch in her right eye, the same one that comes around at the start of fall when everyone is looking for pumpkin spice everything (which she refuses to sell purely on principal). “Of course! So, I was thinking that maybe you’d like to come with us tonight. Shiro and I were planning on going out and getting a few drinks.”

 

Shiro looks panicked, while Keith glances between Allura and his crush-apparent, looking for help. “Um…. I don’t know a-”

 

“Nonsense! I insist!” Allura charges on. “I expect to see you back here at ten tonight. Now, off you go, I do believe you have a shift to get to. Can’t keep those people waiting with their cars too long.” She shoves his drink into his hand and escorts him out the door, forcefully closing it on any of his protests. She turns around and skillfully avoids his flabbergasted staring through the glass, though she doesn’t move until she’s sure he’s already walked away.

 

As she makes her way back to the counter, Shiro looks lost somewhere between enraged, humiliated, and absolutely delighted.

 

“What the hell was that!?” he demands, gesticulating wildly.

 

Completely unfazed by his antics, Allura starts wiping down the equipment, saying, “You needed a push.”

 

Shiro seems unsure what to say to this, mouth opening and closing ineffectually.

 

Walking past him, Allura slaps the rag into his hands. “I’m going to order supplies. You can thank me once your brain catches up.” And with that, she walks into the backroom, leaving Shiro to think on and realize what a great friend she is and how best to thank her. 

* * *

 

 

Nine fifty-five that evening finds Shiro back at the shop, helping Allura finish up closing duties and trying to ignore the stupid butterflies in his stomach. That part isn’t going well at all if one were to ask Allura.

 

“He’s not going to show up,” Shiro frets, probably for the tenth time in just as many minutes.

 

“He’ll show,” she assures him, surveying the cafe area to make sure she hasn’t forgotten to do anything. “And if he doesn’t, he was never worth all the hubbub in the first place.” She feels a little bad about that part, especially at the flash of kicked-puppy look that crosses Shiro’s face, but it isn’t a necessarily untrue statement. Honestly though, she hopes Keith does show. It’d be a shame if the first crush Shiro has had in years was forced to fizzle out so quickly.

 

There’s a shared sigh of relief when at ten on the dot, there is a knock on the door. Allura isn’t sure if he’s usually so punctual or if he’s just excited to be spending an evening out with Shiro, but either way, she’s glad he showed. A moment of silence passes before Allura turns to Shiro with an eyebrow raised.

 

“Are you going to let him in?”

 

The tension that had drained from his shoulders immediately returns. “Wh- Me? But you’re the one that invited him!”

 

Allura doesn’t even try to hide the way her eyes roll. “Yes, for you.”

 

“Well, yeah, but-” Shiro starts to stutter out, and honestly! How is this a man who served two tours in Iraq when he can’t even open the door for what he deems to be a cute boy?

 

“I’m not the one who will be moping if he walks away,” Allura says simply, which seems to spur him into action.

 

Shiro unlocks the door and opens it to reveal a Keith that is slightly more put together than usual, wearing a red, cropped jacket over a black v-neck and dark wash jeans that hug his legs all the way down. He’s still not Allura’s type, but she can definitely see the appeal of him.

 

“I’m glad you came,” Shiro says by way of greeting, smiling genuinely at him.

 

“Well, I didn’t really have a way to cancel, and it would have been rude to just not show up,” Keith mumbles, but Allura can tell by the pink high on his cheeks and the way he stubbornly won’t make eye contact with Shiro that he wanted to come either way.

 

“You look nice,” she says, snapping them out of their little moment. Then, just because she can, she adds, “Don’t you think so, Shiro?”

 

Shiro’s face immediately lights up and he stumbles through a response that sounds something like, “Wh- Ye- I mean, he always- Or, that is- Uh-” while Keith just stares at him with wide eyes.

 

To save them all a world of pain, humiliation, and second-hand embarrassment, Allura grabs her purse and says, “Alright, I’m ready, let’s go!” while ushering the two men out the door and locking the shop back up.

* * *

 

 

They aren’t at the bar an hour before Allura is sufficiently third-wheeling it. Without the limitations of professionalism between them, Keith and Shiro are hitting it off even better than could be expected. The flirting isn’t the stilted, awkward, overly-cliche lines that Allura has grown used to; instead, it is all rather natural, as though the two men have known each other for ages and this next step is just the natural progression of things.

 

It’s simultaneously heart-warming and absolutely soul crushing for Allura. She’s over the moon for her friend, but after spending so long purposefully avoiding happy couples, being in the presence of a burgeoning romance just serves to make her slightly cranky. She takes her leave of the two by way of excusing herself under the pretense of getting another drink. She has no real intention of returning though, at least not any time soon. She figures that’s fine; Shiro and Keith will get time to bond alone, and she’ll have time to raise her spirits.

 

The problem arises in that she can be a bit off a poor planner, meaning she had neglected to think about the fact that getting a seat at the bar on a Saturday night could prove challenging. She stands awkwardly for a full minute before heaving a sigh and approaching the bar. Worse comes to worst, she can always just get another drink and find somewhere else to plop down for a time. When she reaches the bar, she raises a hand to flag down one of the several bartenders working this evening. She winds up catching the attention of a tall, skinny man with brown hair that is artfully disheveled and falling into his blue eyes just so. He’s attractive in the flashy, confident sort of way that Allura can definitely appreciate.

 

Cute bartender saunters over with a self-sure smirk on his face. “Hey, beautiful, what can I get for you?”

 

Allura wrinkles her nose. There are few things more annoying than a guy who knows just how attractive he is. “I’ll just have a gin and tonic.”

 

CB has a momentary look of disgust before quickly recovering his suave smirk. He shoots her a pair of finger guns and says, “You got it!”

 

While she waits, Allura does yet another sweep of the bar area looking for a seat. Still, there are no empty seats to be found.

 

“Hey, baby, you here alone?” a voice slurs to her right. She chooses to ignore it; at least, that’s her plan until there’s a meaty hand on her shoulder and a hulking drunk towering over her. “Hey, you hear me?”

 

Allura settles a glare at the man, but before she can utter a word, the bartender reappears with her drink in hand and his eyes on the drunk.

 

“Dude, don’t be that guy.”

 

Said guy slowly turns his attention to the bartender, very eloquently saying, “Huh?”

 

The bartender juts his chin in Allura’s direction. “She isn’t interested.”

 

The drunk glares at him, swaying in place. “Ain’t your business,” he slurs darkly.

 

CB shrugs casually. “Hey, your funeral,” he says.

 

Slowly, the drunk furrows his brow in confusion. “Whatcha mean?”

 

CB gives Allura a clinically assessing look before turning back to the drunk. He leans in conspiratorially and stage whispers, “Dude, did you notice the muscles? She’ll put your balls in a vice so tight they pop.”

 

The drunk’s face pales considerably. “I was jus’ tryin’a talk to her.”

 

CB takes on the affectation of a disappointed mother. “Now we both know talking doesn’t require touching.”

 

The drunk snatches his hand away, and immediately Allura realizes just how much the guy was leaning on her for support.

 

CB makes a small shooing motion with his hand. “Now go on, go home before you hit on the wrong chick and I’m not around to rescue you from your impaired judgement.”

 

The drunk shuffles in place for a moment before muttering, “Yeah, yeah, good, yeah,” and swaying off in the direction of the exit.

 

Allura glances toward the vacated seat before warily eyeing the bartender. She doesn’t need someone going all white knight on her, and she definitely doesn’t want to sit here if he’s going to be a jerk about it. Instead of looking smug and expectant, though, CB just smiles apologetically at her.

 

“Sorry about that,” he says.

 

She blinks at him in confusion before narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “For what?” she asks.

 

CB laughs, and though she is loath admit it, he looks even better when he smiles genuinely like that. “Man, I know you can handle yourself, but I’ve honestly been trying for thirty minutes now to figure out how to cut him off and get him to stop taking up space without him getting all belligerent, so thanks. You just made my life way easier.”

 

“Oh. Well then,” Allura says, not quite sure how to respond to that.

 

CB pushes her drink towards her. “On the house for saving my skin.”

 

She continues to stare at him in mild shock, muttering out, “Thank you.”

 

He winks and flashes a thumbs up before walking off to tend to his other patrons. Allura slides into the seat, flabbergasted and not quite sure what to make of that encounter.

* * *

 

 

She sits at the bar and nurses her drink, constantly keeping watch of Shiro and Keith out of the corner of her eye. It seems to be going well with them, if the smiles and lack of distance between them is anything to go by. She orders a second drink, this time from a different bartender as CB seems to either be on break or otherwise occupied. When asked if she would like to open up a tab, she checks her watch before stating the affirmative and handing over her card. She’ll give it a couple more drinks before deciding if she should bow out for the evening or not. Things seem to be going well between the men so far, but she can’t in good conscience leave her friend when that could possibly change.  Especially since she roped him into this.

 

Once she’s hit the bottom of the second drink, she’s starting to feel a bit tipsy. It’s only fair considering she’s had a long day and was already a few drinks in before wandering over to the bar. She’s also happy to note that CB is back, so she flags him down to order another.

 

CB shoots her a roguish grin as he leans down onto the bar. “Man, is this seat haunted by the ghost of a drunk loner or something?”

 

Allura feels her face flush from more than just the alcohol. “Excuse me?”

 

The roguish smirk turns into something a little more genuine. “Sorry, sorry, just teasing.”

 

Allura settles her most unimpressed look on him. “Sorry to say, but I don’t think we’re quite on that level yet.”

 

CB at least has the good graces to look sheepish. “True, sorry.”

 

There’s an awkward beat of silence in which Allura attempts to sneak covert glances at CB, only to catch him doing the same. It may be a dimly lit bar, but she can still tell when he turns as red as she feels.

 

CB clears his throat. “Right, um, I should probably get you that drink. Same thing?”

 

She glances down at the empty glass in her hands, having forgotten she’d even called him over for something to begin with. “Oh, uh… Yes. Please.”

 

CB nods and walks away to make her drink, and she stares uselessly after him, fully feeling the stirrings of a big, dumb, stupid crush.

 

Well then, she thinks, that’s something.

 

When he returns, Allura quickly announces, “My name is Allura, by the way.”

 

CB gawks at her before flashing a grin that has her stomach tying itself in knots. “I’m Lance,” he says, extending a hand.

 

Allura grasps his hand, giving it a brief shake. She smiles back, and while she’s sure she’s blushing, there’s also a wonderful grounding feeling that comes from his touch.

 

The remain in their shared bubble of warmth and smiles, their grips on each other relaxing but not ending, until Lance is jostled by a fellow bartender. The interloper, a large man with dark skin and kind eyes, looks between Allura and Lance and their joined hands before pointedly raising his eyebrows at Lance.

 

Lance is quick to extract his hand, and Allura acutely feels the loss. He fidgets about for a spell, cheeks glowing red, before sheepishly saying, “Well, it’s nice meeting you, Allura, you know, properly.” Then, he shuffles off quickly to attend to things elsewhere. The second bartender takes a second to look her up and down curiously before grinning widely and proclaiming, “Huh!” Then he’s wandering off, as well.  

* * *

 

Allura slowly nurses her drink, keeping her eyes on Lance. While he does occasionally glance her way, the bar is unfortunately beginning to get busier which gives him no time to actually come over and talk again. Then, before she knows it, Shiro appears at her shoulder.

 

“You ready to head out?” he asks.

 

Allura can’t help quickly glancing over to where he’d been sitting with Keith, but before she can even compose an actual thought, he’s saying, “We’re good. Really good. Just getting tired.”

 

When she looks back at Shiro, she can tell he’s blushing and sporting a happy smile. Her shoulders relax from a tension she hadn’t even realized she was holding. “Yes, just give me a moment to close out my tab.”

 

Shiro nods. “We’ll wait for you over at the door, “ he says, then walks back towards Keith.

 

She watches after him with a smile and perhaps a twinge of envy before turning back to flag down one of the bartenders rushing back and forth, and maybe, just maybe, she’s hoping it will be Lance.

 

Instead, the kind-eyed guy is the one who sees her and closes her out. As she tucks her card back into her wallet, she spares one last glance at Lance, who is busy making drinks down at the other end. She considers, for a moment, leaving her number for him, but ultimately decides against it. He’s cute and charismatic, and she’s sure he must receive at least a dozen numbers a night. Besides, as a fellow member of the service industry, she knows just how exhausting unsolicited passes can be, so instead, she packs it up and heads out the door with Shiro and Keith.

 

She pulls her jacket tighter against the fall chill and smiles as she listens to the two men continue to chat as they step outside. The three don’t make it ten steps away from the building before someone shouts, “Allura!”

 

All three of them turn, and while she can’t be sure just quite how Keith and Shiro react, Allura finds her eyes widening upon seeing Lance jogging in her direction.

 

“D-Did I forget something?” she asks, dumbfounded.

 

“No, I uh…” Lance averts his gaze shyly before turning his focus back to her. “I was afraid you’d leave before I could give you this.” He extends a hand holding a napkin with writing on it.

 

“What’s this?” she asks, even as she’s instinctively reaching out for it.

 

“My number, ya know, in case there’s uh…” he trails off, suddenly seeming at a loss for just what sort of ridiculous excuse he can maybe give beyond the obvious.

 

She looks at the napkin, and sure enough, ten digits written in sharp, angular script stares back at her. She smiles at him. “In case there are any more men I need you to bamboozle?” she asks with a teasing smile.

 

“Hey, no! Like I said, you saved me there.”

 

Allura laughs, loud and ungraceful and truly delighted, and it seems to put Lance at immediate ease.

 

Quickly pulling her phone from her pocket, Allura enters his number and sends a text. Looking up, she smiles and says, “And now you have my number. Hopefully I’ll hear from you later?”

 

Lance smiles back, blushing, but musters all the suaveness he can to respond, “Of course, I certainly can’t keep a lady waiting, can I?”

 

She remains oblivious to Keith’s rolling eyes and steadfastly chooses to ignore Shiro’s sly looks the whole walk home.

* * *

 

  

When she wake up the following morning, it’s to a blinking light on her phone and a text alert for (1) new message from Lance. She immediately laughs at his response before sending one of her own. Her phone dings with an alert before she can even put it back down

 

This? This could definitely be a very promising thing.

 

__This is Allura. The one who_ _

__saved you from a_ _

__belligerent drunk guy? ;D_ _

__What would you say your_ _

__feelings on pumpkin spice_ _

__are?_ _

__

__Oh, I’m a total basic bitch._ _

__Hope that isn’t a deal_ _

__breaker? Lol!_ _

 

__Sigh. Well, at least I know_ _

__your flaws up front._ _

__

__Well, we can’t all be gin_ _

__and tonic people, can we?_ _

__;D_ _

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kanoitrace), [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/kanoitrace), and to a far lesser extent [Tumblr](http://kanoitrace.tumblr.com/).


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